Three Americans detained in China are released in prisoner swap

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States, the White House said Wednesday, announcing a diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration. The release of Americans deemed wrongfully detained in China has been a top agenda item in each conversation between the U.S. and China, and Wednesday's development suggests a willingness by Beijing to engage with the outgoing Democratic administration before Republican President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. open image in gallery The three prisoners - Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung - have been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained by China Trump took significant actions against China on trade and diplomacy during his first term. A U.S. official said the Biden administration had raised the cases of the detained Americans with China in multiple meetings over the past several years, including earlier this month when Biden spoke to Xi on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.